Thiel Aurora: How Great Sound Transformed My Home

Music is a big part of my life, so having a great source to listen to it is important. I’ve spent the last few weeks getting to know my new Aurora and will be breaking it down this week, right in time for the holidays! It was insanely easy to set up and even survived my travels to Moab last month. Needless to say, it’s become a staple in my life.

There are a few things I’d like you to know about Thiel before we get into all the juicy sound details. First up, their rebranding: product brains AND beauty. Lead by a female team from their CEO to the mechanical engineer that designs their products, they’re crushing it when it comes to thinking outside the box. When I got the chance to meet and chat with their CEO at their San Francisco launch, she elaborated on their vision to elevate home audio beyond just good sound, but to integrate into a customer’s home seamlessly through an inconspicuous yet timeless design.

Now for the sexy stuff: sound. Your first question, how’s it stack up against the competition? I’m breaking down my post by category, and how each has made a difference in my everyday life.

Sound

I’ve had many speakers in the past, from Bose to B&O, and can confidently say the Aurora competes with the best of them. I used to love Bose back in college given its signature robust bassy sound. In comparison, the Aurora isn’t quite as bass filled, which is awesome, as I feel the sound is much more authentic as a result. As showcased at the Thiel popup in San Francisco, the sound gets even better as you multiply the sources. Any Sonos lovers out there? If you love your multiple speakers that allow you to move the sound around your house, you’ll be blown away by how the sound gets better as you add more speakers. This is not the case with Sonos but is on the Aurora. It’s wild. I felt like I was in a surround sound tank.

Connectivity

Have you ever gotten a pair of Bluetooth speakers, only to struggle with its connectivity, especially when you have several others that use the same device within the same household? Yup. I’ve been there in college, and when my family comes home for the holidays, and it hasn’t always been a breeze. After taking this device home earlier this year, I surprised at how easy it was to connect and get the music going. If you don’t believe me (given the fact that I’m a bit more technically adept than most), do know that my mom was able to set it up at home and playing via Spotify on her phone. What’s even more awesome? You can connect via WiFi, Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay, AND an aux cable, unlike other competitors on the market.

Resilience

This is a big one for me. I’m pretty hard on my electronics, given that I use them daily and travel a lot for adventure. These speakers have been tested to resist children, travel, and even give spectacular sound outside. We had a blast playing music out in Moab, and it never gave us issues and took our travel needs like a champ.

Compatibility

This is FREAKING HUGE for me. I used to hate the fact that Sonos had a horrible UI for SoundCloud, one of my top sources of music. It was difficult to set up a playlist, causing me to constantly change the track every single time: it would stop playing music unless another track was added to the queue, instead of just playing down the list. Some UI’s were easier, such as Spotify, but it was still difficult to look up playlists in the Sonos app. Say goodbye to a special app! You can play whatever music you choose, right from the same app you’re listening from. SOLD.

ROI

Still not sure about it? Thiel gives you a 30-day money back guarantee, so if you don’t love it, you can send it right back. How’s that for an investment? I’m also pumped to release my second music video this year, showcasing its incredible beauty and seamless fit into my home. Watch it below!

Check out the rest of their info right from their website. They’re still supporting holiday pricing (25% off), so grab one before they go back to full price!

22 Comments

I’m sure there are many thousands of women who will think the extra $500 or so you have to pay above the price of Bose is well worth it for a little less bass. This company is being driven into the ground hard. I’ll be shocked if this stuff is still for sale in a year.

Hi Joe, thanks for your response! Have you experienced the Aurora personally? As a long time owner of Bose myself, as well as both my male & female friends/co-workers in tech who have experienced the Aurora at home in person, its quality is pretty exceptional. Many tech companies rebrand as a result of former failures (Apple for one), and the results are usually pretty incredible. This was the case with Thiel. I’d definitely urge you to do a little more research on the exact product itself, as it’s quite different than previous models. Also, the price point for a comparable Bose model isn’t that far off. I hope this is helpful!

Thiel audio was a successful company for decades before the founder and speaker designer, Jim Thiel, got sick and died in 2009. His wife ended up selling the company to a private equity firm in 2012. Since then Thiel has gone through several CEOs. They recently let go much of their staff including the director of engineering. I’ve been following them for several years now and all of the evidence I’ve seen leads me to believe that the current owners are not admirable people. If you are interested in the details strata-gee dot com posted some info on 12/7. They believe the company essentially shut down at the end of November.

I’m an owner and fan of Jim Thiel designs and what has happened to this company annoys me. The new owners immediately abandoned all of the principles that made Thiel speakers great and started producing “me too” products that are not meaningfully different than dozens of other mass produced products. The Aurora line may sound a little different than the comparable Bose or Harman products but there is nothing special about it. There are a lot more wireless speakers than you probably realize. Aurora is hoping you don’t find out about them because if you do you might realize that their products are not worth the money. A couple of 3″ drivers in a plastic box designed by nobody in particular and made in China is not a premium product and does not deserve a premium price tag.